Child Participation and Experiential Learning in Food: A New Approach to Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Child obesity is a major public health issue. Alarming obesity projections have sparked widespread concern, albeit not much consensus on how to address the problem. Obesity has been often viewed as a matter of personal responsibility, and especially of parental responsibility when it concerns children. Elsewhere, I discussed the importance of adopting instead a children’s rights approach to hold governments accountable for preventing and combating child obesity. This article focuses instead on the right of children to participate in decision-making processes affecting their lives recognized under Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The article argues that its implementation through experiential food learning opportunities integrated into early childhood school curricula deserves much attention and holds some promise for effective solutions.